


Copy & Paste

by ikeaphobia



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1980s, F/F, Kim Hyunjin/Vivi, Paranormal, loonaverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-08-23 11:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16617785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikeaphobia/pseuds/ikeaphobia
Summary: Vivi comes to Korea and ends up working at a run-down roller rink. Its definitely the 80s since Never Gonna Give You Up croons from every radio, but her world is quiet as she skates alone at night.





	1. Rewinding

**Author's Note:**

> This playlist goes along with this chapter: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQdKmAQLGlVo2A30zGcjHy4fTrssH-QcH  
> 

A petite "Sorry, We're Closed" sign appeared in the window of the local roller rink, 51db Skating. Dusk had come quickly to a strangely cold summer day and its shadow spread over the small city. The roller rink was still bright and blinding in all its neon glory. The large building could be seen looming above the small town like it was a formidable Grecian temple. The main lights inside were dimmed. A girl was resting her head on the cashier counter. The disco ball on the ceiling reflected a soft pink glow to reveal a the dark outline of the small girl. Her headphones had been pushed up so they sat atop of her wavy hair. Her light snores were the only sound in the rink. She had fallen asleep listening to her Walkman. 

She often stayed late after her night-shift had ended. Her boss was not very demanding but she couldn't stand how the rink got dirty so easily. Vivi would stay later in the evening to tidy up her counter, the skate rack and the vast rink. For an employee who was at work at such a late hour she skated around the building with her broom or a dust rag. With only the rink left to clean she crossed her legs back and forth to gain even more speed to zip around the rink. She was probably spreading more dust but at this point didn't really care. Her laugh sung out like the small chimes on the front door. Cleaning the rink this way was the only way for Vivi to have some skating time to herself and she enjoyed it. Even if it did make her sleep-deprived

When she had first gotten the job she would shuffle around the rink with her dust rag. She scooched lightly along on her knees and socked feet. She stopped just in time to avoid some kind of trash on the rink floor. With a huff she bent forward to look closer. A piece of gum was dangerously (and illegally) stuck to the floor. She pouted and full out laid down on the rink, as if a close proximity would help her figure out how to remove it properly. No ideas popped into her head so she skated over to her counter and pulled out a hefty packet of rink employee’s instructions. The binder landed heavily on the counter top. She aptly flicked through the pages and scanned the small type. Of course, it was all in Hangul. She bent over and squinted at the small type until her eyes fell upon the same words that were on the sign behind her on the wall, and the small text below it. NO CHEWING GUM - “Employees must ask skaters to leave if they are caught with gum on their person. If they skate away, employees are permitted to skate after them in pursuit." Vivi frowned. After this small passage, there were no other instructions. The next sentence was merely: “Patrons who are injured must call their own ambulance. We have no first aid kit. Patrons must bring own band-aids." Vivi shook her head again. She had already read this in her cold and stuffy apartment as a young, anxious new employee. When she had saw that passage at first, she thought she may have misread it. That had been her life for the past year. There had been many times when she had been very confused by strange magazine covers, like "Baby Returns to Jail". Then she would set the magazine aside and look at her dictionary again. Luckily, by this point her reading skills were much better and her own writing looked a lot less like a 3rd grader's scribble.

She had immediately decided that even if it was a mistranslation, she should amend the lack of a first aid kit right away. Especially since the priorities at this rink sounded like a grumpy old man wrote them. She blamed that grumpy man for many things, except the for high-speed chase amendment. Vivi was shy, but she was very good at skating and had a tiny whistle hanging around her neck to flag people down. She giggled at the thought 

The gum on the floor made her turn her attention back to her dilemma. 

She couldn't ask her boss because it was late at night and she had already left. And by tomorrow it might be too late to erase the damage. So Vivi did the only thing she could think of... 

She put tape over it and tried to disguise it as part of the floor. The tape was almost the same shade as brown, she thought. In hindsight, maybe not her best idea. From that point forward, she kept an eagle eye to prevent it from ever happening again. She still had her whistle, though. Almost like a lifeguard of justice! But of course, just as a precaution.

______________

Light bells sprinkled a gentle sound that echoed around in the roller rink. Vivi groggily opened her eyes and lifted her face from the counter to see her boss’ blinding smile gleaming in front of her. “You sure got here early! Did you already set up everything?” she laughed, which made her hair full of curls bounce around. Vivi looked up at her from the counter. Her boss smiled, “Of course you did! You deserve the nap. I’ll wake you up when it's eight, hon.” 

Yet another day. Vivi felt as if she had been stuck in this day forever. For the past three months she had woken up with a start in the middle of the night. Everything about the atmosphere seemed strange and unreal. Her creaky apartment floors and the stuffy air seemed to be telling her something was wrong. This feeling followed her until she realized she must be having deja vu of some sort. Or at least this was the best thing she could come up with at that point. So today felt like yesterday. Or did it? Did she even go home last night? Her brain was playing tricks and Vivi did not have time for it today. She hopped down from her stool but shrieked when her music player plummeted to the floor. Her headphones had been yanked out of it as she set up, forgetting she had them on her head. She bent down to assess the damage. It was ok. Not even a scratch. She clutched the walkman tightly to her chest and sighed in relief. 

This player was one of the few things she had taken with her from her hometown to Korea. She did not even have many songs to play on it but it was a gift her mom had given her. Like a spoiled kid, she had felt let-down when she opened the gift bag. She was a homebody and jammed out to her dad's old record player whenever she got the chance. Why would she need a Walkman? 

_______________

A knock on her door surprised Vivi who was lying down on her bed. It was her mother. Her wrinkled face was so bright as she pulled out a gift-wrapped box from behind her back and handed it to her daughter. Vivi sat up and eagerly ripped it open. Removing the tissue paper she found a small black box of some sort. She took the bulky player into her hands and examined it, when she realized what it was. She felt her heart sink, but weakly smiled up at her mother. Her mother seemed to feel her disappointment butwas still smiling at her warmly. She sat down next to Vivi.  


“Dearheart, don’t worry I have a reason for getting this for you”. She laughed. Of course her Mom had a reason. She always did. Her mother was probably one of the kindest people she knew. She was wearing her old pink apron with a bulky sweater underneath. Her hair was still a beautiful brown and was tied up for baking her daughter's cake. Vivi had experienced her mother's wisdom many times. She seemed to see through everything.  


“I'm remembering you when you were younger. Before you went off to school." Her mom put her hand on Vivi's and sighed, "You...you had such a bright light. You would dance and dance, skating circles around us when you turned on the record player after dinner.” She looked at Vivi who had covered her mouth. “Even when you played it late night thinking that we couldn’t hear it.” Vivi's cheeks flushed slightly. Her mom hadn't brought up her antics as a small child for quite some time.  


The woman sighed with a smile.  


“I know how much you've struggled, dear. Sometimes I feel that you're fading away. I want you to hold onto that light again." Her mother pressed the walker into her daughter's hands and wrapped Vivi's fingers around it firmly.

"I think you need to have something to remind you to dance. “ The woman’s mouth began to quiver. Vivi held her mother's hand more tightly."  


"I'm so proud of you," her mother whispered, "Happy Birthday, sika. Keep this for when things get hard in Korea." With these words, Vivi sank into her mother's arms. Tears filled her own eyes.  


She wasn't ready to leave China."  


_______________ 

Vivi had been extremely shy ever since she was young. It was only her first day of school when she had been pushed violently by the other children who rushed outside to the playground at lunchtime. She followed after them with a hesitant jog because she loved to be outdoors. Kids were climbing on the playground and some played tag running around as fast as their tiny feet could take them. Vivi stopped in her tracks. She did not know what to do. Her eyes flickered back and forth to the different groups the kids had formed. She approached two girls playing with a ball. They noticed and passed the ball to her with a smile but she swung out her foot too hard and shot it back at them. She squeaked out a sorry as they scattered and threw her dirty looks. The walked away and Vivi was alone.

Vivi wanted to chase after them but her legs had already began to run towards the swings as tears began to fall. She sat on the black swing that burned through her uniform until she stopped crying. From that day forward she was labeled as the weird, quiet girl who hardly looked anyone in the eyes. Throughout her years in school she gradually was able to make friends who were similar to her. They even had their own lunch table. Even though the kids’ called them the “Loner Table” (also shortened to Losers), Vivi felt much happier than she had in a long time.

Amazingly enough, she made a friend in high school who she clicked with immediately. The girl was constantly jumping around her dizzying Vivi with her energy. Her friend's name was Juahui and just so happened to be working part-time as a model. She was very proud of it so Vivi was often on the receiving end of her babbling about her shoots, her dreams, and how much she loved it.

One day Juahui had held out her arm in front of the classroom door and let Vivi run into it. Annoyed, Vivi tried to duck under but Juahui quickly put her in a headlock and dragged her to their lockers. The small girl let out a gasp when she was released and was about to run away from her suddenly murderous friend when a flyer was shoved in her face. 

"*HIRING NOW* Young models needed." Juahui firmly put the flyer into Vivi's hands who groaned and slid down her locker to the ground. Her friend was staring down at her with fiery eyes with a wicked smile. Vivi knew there was no escape. Her friend did not like to take "no" as an answer.

Still it took many weeks of convincing, before she gave up on diplomacy and dragged Vivi to one of her modeling sessions. Vivi slowly became more and more interested. Her friend would look stunning as the photographer took photo after photo. Juahui was exhilarated when she heard her friend was finally on-board. Viian Wong became her “stage” name. Though she was still shy, Vivi finally began to feel more confident. This was the perfect job. She barely had to talk at all. Just posing and smiling. Maybe this would work out after all.

_______________

She stood up to carefully place the player on the counter. Her eyes were drawn to the large clock above the rink and her mouth dropped. 30 minutes had passed? She could've swore she had just been under the the counter for now more than a few minutes! Groaning, she ran around putting everything in place and swept the floor once more. She was just heading toward the counter when the bells of the door rung loudly multiple times. What sounded like a rowdy group came romping up the hallway. She heard her boss run out of her office to “Wake her up before eight”. 

The teens were harassing her boss asking for discounts, chewing gum, and the worst cardinal sin - being extremely loud and annoying. Vivi made her way over to the counter and her boss sighed in relief. 

“Okay boys, my employee is going to take care of you now.” She flashed her big smile. Quickly she patted Vivi on the shoulder and high-tailed it back to her office. Not for the first time, Vivi thought how nice it would be to have a coworker. Sighing, she turned her attention to the group of boys who already thrown won on the counter. “What’s your shoe size?” she asked the first boy who had a haughty glare and was chewing on a toothpick. She stifled a laugh at his mullet which was topped off with terrible frosted tips

He scoffed and swung his head towards the skates, “275. Make it quick.” 

She quickly grabbed the skates and gave them to him. A friend pushed him out of the way and three people at once shouted their shoe sizes. One by one they ran off to shove each other around on their skates. Now Vivi had the lovely task of counting out every single coin and the rare banknote. She would not put it past the boys to underpay so she had to be meticulous. The coins and paper had been sorted into five piles just as the boys had settled down and were untying their skates. Vivi had realized half-way that she was missing 10,000 won. Not trusting her voice to be loud enough, she walked over to the rude boy who had bullied in the past. 

The boys started hooting and laughing as she walked over. She ignored this and stood in front of them, “You need 10,000 more won. I’m going to need that before you leave”. The boy with the toothpick hanging lazily out of his mouth smirked.

“Listen,” he said, standing up and placing his sweaty hand on her shoulder, “We’ve been coming here for what, 6 months now?” He smiled, “Don’t you think it’s about time we get some store credit?” Vivi blinked. She had never heard of this in China. Korea was pretty strange, though.

“Credit?” she asked. The boy smiled, “Yeah, if you have customers who are loyal, they get discounts that build up. They can use it when they need too.” His friends wooted in the background as they did some goofy breakdance moves. 

Vivi was not convinced. Especially since it was this gang and their dance did not impress her. She was smart enough to smell bullshit and continued in a professional tone “Sorry, our establishment does not offer this service currently.” She folded her arms so that the boy’s hand fell off her shoulder. His face began to scrunch into itself, his frosted tips seemed to be shivering with rage. He was about to reach out and grab her when her boss walked out of her office. Vivi called her desperately. 

The boss walked over quickly with fire in her eyes, “Young men, I’m going to have to ask you to leave this minute.” The boys protested and the leader stomped his foot in intimidation. Her boss stood like Vivi with her arms crossed, “If you don’t, we will have no choice but to ban you. This is your last warning.” 

After what seemed like an eternity, the boys scoffed at each other and left. Her boss also went back to her office with a skip in her step and a song very obviously stuck in her head. Vivi was still frozen in the spot where the boy had tried to grab her. Blinking away her discomfort she adjusted her overalls back in place and jumped up to sit on the counter. She swung her feet as she her gaze softened. The window above the rink was letting sunlight stream in with blue sky covered with buildings and trees with clouds floating lazily. The sky was turning more orange one turn of the earth at a time. She smiled at the sight and slumped down exhausted. Maybe she should take her lunch break, she thought. But then her face went pale. Her feet stopped swinging as she felt some invisible hand push her forward like it was pulling an electric plug from the back of her neck. She struggled against it, trying to keep herself on the counter.

Then Vivi’s head jerked back with a snap. 

Her body seemed to short-circuit. A sharp pain stung on her neck where the hand had pulled and the world was spinning underneath her. Her vision flickered in and out. As her eyes were forced close her body went went limp and she started slipping off the counter into darkness. 

Her boss shook her back into reality. The woman's face was tight and her glasses had fallen off her nose and were dangling against her chest. “Are you alright?” she asked. Vivi's head pounded in time like a metronome that slowly brought her vision back one beat at a time. She tried to focus on the woman's face. It was like she had just had a rug pulled from under her feet and then was pushed down the unnecessarily steep stairs that led up to the rink.

“Yes, thank you” Vivi weakly gave a smile and pushed her self back to sit against the counter. The woman took her hands off of Vivi's shoulders and scrutinized her as she put her glasses back on.

“Is it okay if I leave a little early today?” Vivi had to hold her head in her hands. Her boss looked properly freaked out and nodded quickly. She reached down to pull up the girl who now had a "warning: fragile" sign in the older woman's mind. 

“Of course,” she said, patting her on the back gently, “And don’t get here so early tomorrow. You already keep the place so nice”. 

Vivi stumbled down the long flight of stairs as the sun fell behind her.

Static buzzed as the screen went dark. The videotape was rewinding and its magnetic tape had clicked, signalling it had finally reached the beginning.


	2. Fast-Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 51db Rink is turned upside down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which a girl gang brings some sunshine. So here's a happy playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQdKmAQLGlVrzP4dgrznsZDeYanJguwVW. (Get ready to hear Vivi's boss' favorite song!)

Sunlight flared on the back of Vivi’s hair lighting it up into a hot pink. The sun was warm against her skin like a morning blessing and she sighed into the morning air. Last night even the three blankets she owned was not enough to keep out the cold. She had shivered violently like she was stuck in an icy barren landscape and not her bed. She was lucky though. She was grateful she could still feel her feet when she woke up. Now with the morning warmth to lighten her steps she turned the corner from her apartment and headed up a cobbled road. The road led straight up to the roller rink. It stood there above the quaint shops and homes with the sun behind it. Vivi was surprised how empty the street was this morning. The signs with faded letters seemed even more dark, just like the windows that they were attached to. Some stray dogs were yipping and sniffing around the shops. One shop owner was opening up and she swept her steps furiously when a dog got too close.

Vivi walked up past a bakery towards the end of the street, where the stairs to the rink began. An elderly man sat at a table drinking coffee. His face was slouched downward onto his chest and his hands were folded neatly underneath. Only his eyes rose up when he saw the bright girl walk past. She gave him a quick smile and bow of her head. Her legs led to her take quicker steps so her sandals flapped loudly. She grasped her backpack straps and jogged to the base of the long flight of stairs, loud sandal sounds echoed even when she was near the top. 

Vivi was still getting used to locals and how to be polite. This was especially difficult since her normal shyness was exacerbated by her still unfamiliar surroundings.The last thing Vivi wanted was to have to run away from furious ahjumma with walking sticks as their torches and pitchforks. She grabbed onto the railway as she skipped up the last few set of stairs. Her brain seriously needed to be rewired to block out the stereotypes Juahui had told as horror stories. At least, they were scary stories to her at the time. Not for the first time, she thought of how it would be nice to be brave. Go to a theater by herself. Eat out by herself! Or, she paused to think, do anything by herself. She stuck out her bottom lip and pouted.

At the top of the stairs, Vivi turned her head to feel the sun once more on her face. She closed her eyes and sighed. Noises down the stairs broke the morning silence. She glanced down and saw some girls she had failed to notice on the way up. 

They were hanging out near a noodle shop. A girl stretched out and yawned loudly which caused a chain reaction. One girl took charge to hand out the food to the other girls. They grabbed their bowls and began blowing the steam off. One girl immediately began to slurp up noodles at an alarming rate, despite the scalding heat. A very small girl with little space buns was hopping around excitedly and...squawking? Another one of the girls hit the small girl, who was now flapping her arms at the older girl with her tongue stuck out. Vivi wisely decided that was enough people-watching for today. She turned away from the scene entered the building and shook off her shoes to pick up her slippers. Stepping out of the hallway the rink came into her peripheral. Because of the sun peeking through the windows, the dust rose from the floor like gold specks. It almost looked magical. Not quite. Pretty aesthetic for dust, though.

Vivi laid down her bag and headphones on the counter and made her way to the skate rack. On the top wired shelf there were huge skates pushed haphazardly out of the way by Vivi.. On tip-toe she barely managed to pull her small skates out from behind the bigfoot skates. With nimble fingers she quickly laced them up one by one. Her skates were on and she was taking bumbly steps across the carpet to step over and glide on smooth floor of the rink. One lap passed by with her body becoming completely relaxed. She skated through the dust and bent down to sweep the floor with her hand. As she gained speed Vivi stuck out one leg behind her and flew around the rink like a talented flamingo. She spun around and jumped off one foot to the other with a little twirl of her hands up in the air. 

Giddily she circled the rink again now at an almost alarming rate like a speed-skater. Her eyes glittered and she bent down with one leg out to zig-zag backwards. Her hair flew around into her face when she stopped suddenly at a loud crash. She flailed her arms to no avail, only to fall backwards and do a little roll. Her body was still recovering from its small heap on the floor position but she pushed her hair up and her lips pulled into a tight line. The bells had rung. Game on.

She leapt onto the carpeted floor and shuffled over with awkward steps to flick on the lights then run behind the counter. She managed to sit with an air of poise but Her chest still rose up and down betraying her cool demeanor as a group of girls walked into view. The first walked with good posture and wore her hair up with a white bandana to match the white stripes on her long green sweater. Her eyes were focused towards the girls, particularly the small loud one, as they were talking over each other. They approached the desk and the leader smiled brightly, in what seemed an apologetic manner.

“Hello! My friends and I were wondering how much a pair of skates will cost?” She asked with her hands folded gently on the counter. A chic girl in pigtails with hoop earrings, hopped next to her saying, 

“And why does it say no gum?” She pointed at the sign on the wall. Her face looked sulky, as her chewing slowed to a stop. The younger girl hopped up and down trying to see over the counter.

It took Vivi a few seconds to reply because the tallest girl in the back caught Vivi’s gaze and her face furrowed. While the others were still jumping around but waiting patiently, this girl was wearing a long yellow jacket and had a face that could have been carved by the gods. Partly because her face looked cold and a little scary. Vivi gulped. 

“The skates are all 4,000 won and if you want inline ones you'll just have to pay a little extra.” she heard herself saying.

The leader nodded and looked around at the girls who also looked satisfied. They all fished in their pockets for the money and Vivi just stared at the counter. She had never seen these girls in this shop before. Or maybe she had? It was getting more difficult to remember things. The girls shook her out of thoughts when coins were neatly stacked on the table in four piles. The leader smiled at her.  


Vivi was impressed. She could almost see the coins adding neatly together in her head. The yellow-jacket girl stepped forward and said her shoe size. Vivi couldn't help but steal secret glances at her when she walked over to a bench to put on her skates.The other girls followed and then they were hitting the floor stumbling and gliding around while teasing each other. Vivi decided not to get her out comic book today. Or at least she wasn’t going to read it. She propped it on the table and bent her head down trying to slouch down in her seat. Sneakily she peeked her head over the book. The girl with the white golf-hat was doing a funny breakdance move which cracked all the girls up. Especially when she dramatically fell backwards, arms flailing in slow motion, but popped back up like she was just going in for a backbend and a triumphant smile spread across her face. The friends looked at her in awe and clapped as they chanted “godHeejin!” 

Only the yellow jacket girl looked underwhelmed. Vivi felt her jaw drop.  


Since she had been staring intently, she jumped out of her seat when she felt a finger tapping on her on the shoulder. Her boss looked down at her (since Vivi was a lot shorter even in her chair.) The woman fluffed up her hair and pushed her librarian glasses to the bridge of her nose and look flustered, “Woah there kid! Just wanted to say I was proud of you. Didn’t get a chance to tell ya. You sure handled those boys well yesterday.” Vivi leaned against the counter and could only nod her head with a nervous smile. This was enough for her boss, though. She nodded back at her small employee. 

Glancing, she looked over at the girls happily skating and a little smile crossed her face, “Make sure to take your lunch break today. I don’t mind if you get back a little late. Business has been pretty slow lately.” She winked. Then she stepped out of the counter space and lazily headed towards her office. Soft but intense synth sounds under a crooning voice filtered out of the room when she swung open the door. Before the singer could say “dance in the rhythm” the door closed, bringing an end to the small concert.  


Hopping back up on her stool, Vivi tried to sit up straight. She still was not able to talk to her boss properly. The woman talked very quickly and was unfortunately, mostly deaf. Or least Vivi had assumed from the way her music was pounding at her door. A girl not quite fluent in Korean and a hard of hearing Korean woman did not make for easy communication. When Vivi applied for the job her boss had agreed to take her on full time without much fan-fare. Despite her boss' promise to bring on more workers, after hiring her no other employees ever appeared. So even though Vivi had only just celebrated her three-month anniversary at the roller rink, she was growing weary quickly. She did not want to deal with unruly skaters for the rest of her life. She looked over at the girls on the rink who hooted as they played tag.

Except for them, Vivi thought.   


.

The bells rang again. Obnoxiously loud grunts and shouts flooded the hallway as soon as the door opened. She slumped in the stool in frustration. Right on time. She glanced over at the girls skating happily and promised herself next time she would secretly lock the door. The leader was already swaggering in Vivi’s direction. He shoulder checked his friend and laughed with a rough edge as he eyed Vivi. She knew trouble was coming and placed her feet on the rungs of the stool and tightly folded her hands.

Game on.

The boy upon reaching the counter lifted his hand in the air and held it there for a second. Then his hand slowly crushed down her comic book. Vivi face tightened. He pushed it to the side and curled his fingers into a lazy wave.

"Hi blondie.” His friends were cracking up and slapping him on the back. Vivi was doing her best not to gag at his breath. She cleared her throat.  


“You’re going to have to spit that gum out.” She said, turning away to pick up her book. She tried to bend back the pages into their original shape.

He scoffed and looked back at his friends who were rolling their eyes. A glint came over the leader’s eyes. He pulled an innocent face, and pulled won out of his pockets. He waited until Vivi reluctantly held out her hand.

He smiled then proceeded to let his gum fall out of his mouth.  


A hand shot out from behind to grip him by his shoulder whipping him around.

The yellow jacket girl was holding him and her face was still cold and hard. Her eyes held an intense glare. Vivi had already shook the spittle off her hands but froze when she saw the girl’s face. The boy was tensed up but eased when he saw it was just a girl in a dorky rain jacket. Her grip on his shoulder tightened at his slight movement.  


“Look,” she tilted her head a fraction of an inch towards the front door “All you have to do is leave.” He began to speak but the girl held her finger up to her mouth.

“Now.” 

All Vivi could do was stare when the girl leaned closer and whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened. He whipped away in a rush. His friends stumbled as they were pushed back.

“Bullshit. You couldn’t…” The girl’s fist was so tight her knuckles were ghost-white. Her face still had not changed except for a slight smirk sneaking out. The leader looked at her in disgust and walked backwards down the hall. At the door he made a motion of breaking an invisible person’s neck. He whistled once and his friends sputtered and ran after him. The bells jingled.

.

The girl turned to Vivi and a smile transformed her face completely. Then she noticed Vivi was looking a bit pale.

“Woah hey, are you ok?” She walked over looked at Vivi’s hands, “You need to wash your hands. That guy was totally an asshole.”

Still in shock at what had just happened, Vivi heard herself saying, “What did you say to him?”  


The girl shrugged with an innocent face, “I didn’t really say anything. Just told him something he didn’t like, I guess.” Vivi’s face blanched. The girl’s hands rose up to calm her. “No, hey hey! I’m just kidding. I've run into him before. He's pretty easy to rile up.” She held out her hand. 

“I’m Hyunjin. Sorry, my friends say I’m too intense sometimes.” She politely held out her hand and escorted Vivi to the bathroom.

“I’m Vivi,” she whispered when they were in the bathroom. She was still too afraid to turn her head but she spotted a smile on Hyunjin’s face in the mirror, “So what did you say to him?”  


Hyunjin laughed lightly and leaned against the wall. She pulled a finger across her neck. “Just that if he came back I’d be waiting.” Vivi frowned. Hyunjin handed her some napkins, “Okay maybe slightly less PG than that. Also, I’m super strong and am therefore terrifying”.  


Vivi finally smiled. The girl wasn't as scary as she had thought. Just a little strange. She headed out the bathroom door and held it open for Hyunjin as they walked (except in Hyunjin's case, who awkwardly scooted along the carpet on skates) Hyunjin turned, “Hey I didn’t mean to scare you. I just saw him standing over you like a vulture and I was not about to let him get away with the shit he pulled", she laughed, "I would have broken out some taekwondo but I had skates on.”  


Vivi sighed, “You don’t know long I’ve had to deal with him. I don't know why he was so much more of a jerk today." She picked up her comic book sadly, "No respect for even the finest of literature." Vivi smoothed out her book more and Hyunjin looked over to her friends. The small girl and the mom-like leader were waltzing but stopped when they noticed Hyunjin looking over. The hoop-eared girl started to skate to them then made the long awkward walk across the carpeted floor.  


“What's up?” She stared at Hyunjin who just she made a nonchalant expression. The girl groaned, “Did you threaten someone again? Really, Hyunjin?” The mom skated up with the younger girl holding on. She eyed the tall girl, “Hyunjin-ah~” she sighed and propped herself up on the smaller girl’s shoulder, “I bet even if someone beat you in Pong you would still threaten torture via a cactus.”  


Hyunjin held up her hands, “Okay, technically I said (Vivi had edited these words out of her mind), but they were being mega-jerks.” Vivi nodded behind her.

The girls scooted over to see Vivi who looked a lot like Hyunjin’s neon shadow. Hyunjin clasped her hands together and tried to calm the girls, “Everything’s cool now. Those guys are gone, I haven't been arrested, and I promise not to kill anyone... physically." No one seemed to notice this last comment and the youngest girl was just smiling. Hyunjin put her hand on Vivi's shoulder, “I’m going to take a break and I’ll come skate in a bit.” This did not convince the girls but the mom seemed satisfied to not interrogate Hyunjin any further and nudged the other girls to skate away. The small girl looked back and giggled at Hyunjin and threw a thumbs up.  


“Hey, can I see the book you were reading? I'm gonna bet it's storyline survived the attack.” Vivi just turned around and went to the counter. The girl followed her. Vivi sat down at the counter and the girl leaned against it and propped her elbows up to hold her face. Vivi’s blank expression made her confused. “What’s wrong? I'm sorry about your book. Or do you just not want to play Pong with me?” she smiled. Vivi took a sharp breath and closed her eyes. She had understood most of the words that had been spoken in the past few minutes, but she was started to get tired.  


“I’m sorry. I just can’t understand everything you’re saying,” Vivi admitted. She was getting close to hitting her limit for speaking poor Korean for the day. Hyunjin eyes got wide. She puffed out her cheeks and her eyes lifted to the right. Her eyebrows furrowed like she was thinking very quickly. A lightbulb went off and she enthusiastically smiled and yelled

“I am happy!!!” In English with a loud resounding boom. 

Vivi cracked up.

“I'm happy that I've met you. Here let's go sit down." Hyunjin pulled Vivi over to the benches, "I really want to talk to you more, but I understand if you're tired. Can I just ask questions really slowly?" Vivi gave a sigh of relief. If someone slowed down when they talked to her, she was sure it would help. So she nodded.

"Where are you from?” she asked. Her face had transformed again from its cold natural state with her head now cocked to one side and her eyes somehow were sparkling. How were the sparkling?  


“Oh, China. Well, Hong Kong to be specific” Vivi replied, “I moved here about four months ago. I don’t have a calendar though,” she pouted, “So that’s an approximate estimation.” Hyunjin let out a little laugh but quickly composed herself and nodded. Vivi ignored this and continued, “I got an apartment here in Seoul. Then I went and bought some blankets and a pillow and... now I’m-” she gestured around the room, “Here.”  


“How long have you been speaking Korean?” Hyunjin at this point was very invested and her elbows were resting on her knees and her head cupped in her fists.  
Vivi reflected Hyunjin's movement, “Believe it or not, it was four months ago.”  


“I’m impressed. You don’t know when you moved here, but you remember when you started speaking Korean.” Hyunjin said with a mischievous smile. Vivi seemed to have missed the joke. Hyunjin shifted onto one elbow and said, “But seriously, it’s so impressive you can hold conversations so well already. ” Vivi smiled wearily.  


“I try my best, but there’s a reason I got a job where I don’t have to talk too much.” She looked over at the girls who were still skating, “Working here was not the best idea though, I guess. I haven’t had much people to practice Korean yet, except for costumers, my boss, and now... you."  


Hyunjin frowned, “Huh? What about your landlord? Neighbors? Even shop owners would count as practice for learning Korean.”

Vivi closed her eyes. She really didn't want to think about her Korean immersion so far. It had not been pretty. Whenever she could, she found shortcuts to avoid people as much as possible. She had never even looked at any of those people in the eyes. When she went to the market the clerk would say how much money was due and Vivi gave it and walked away without a word. Her face started to flush and tears pooled. Hyunjin walked around the counter and patted Vivi on the back.  


“Woah hey, it’s okay.” She placed her hand comfortingly on her shoulder, “If I moved to China I would be intimidated to talk to people, too.” She frowned, “Hell, I don’t even think I’d even look at anybody. I'd just walk around like No-Face and probably get arrested at some point.” Vivi looked up between her fingers. .  


“Seriously, it’s so amazing you’re here. You got a job. You’re not starving. You’ve stayed alive for an entire four-ish months!” Hyunjin gestured, “In my eyes that’s what you should think of right now. Korean will come with time.”  


A tiny tear was tracing down the side of Vivi’s face. She hadn’t even noticed she was tearing up. She quickly wiped it away. “Thank you.” she said, smiling at Hyunjin. “I’m doing better than I thought I’d be. I’m only in survival mode though, it’s not exactly sunny. ”  


The girls on the rink were now pushing the smaller girl while she was crouched down holding her knees. She hooted as she whooshed across the rink. Hyunjin looked where Vivi’s gaze directed “Are you allowed to use any of these skates?” she asked. Vivi jumped a little and looked back at Hyunjin. She leaned down to pick up her skates hidden under the counter. The skates were a very bright white and had pink trim on the outside. The wheels shone in all their neon pink glory.  


“Your boss said you could take a long lunch break. How about you come skate with us?” Hyunjin poked Vivi in her shoulder who seemed apprenhensive. “Come on~ do it” Hyunjin again very much resembled a puppy and Vivi found herself being dragged along. Hyunjin clapped and they made their way over to the rink. Hyunjin was only slightly pushing Vivi who was subconciously resisting to roll along.

The girls saw them coming and pushed Yeojin powerfully straight towards Hyunjin.  


“WEEEEE!” she shouted as she headed straight for Hyunjin’s legs. Hyunjin stepped to one side when she came rushing past. The girl tumbled head over feet and landed in a giggly pile on the carpet. “Hyunjin-unnie” she whined through her unstoppable laughter, “Why do you do these things to me~” Mom rolled over to help her daughter up. She wagged her finger in disapproval at Hyunjin as she rolled by. The hoop-eared girl leaned on Hyunjin’s shoulder.  


“Okay, guys time for a proper introduction!” Hyunjin called out to distract everybody. Specifically the mom and her daughter. Even though they weren’t related. They all assembled in a semi-circle and Hyunjin began, “So friends, this is Vivi.” The girls all said hello in different languages to Vivi. Hyunjin frowned, she swept her hand “And Vivi, these are my strange friends.”

The girls started protesting but the mom extended her hand to shake Vivi’s, saying “Hi Vivi, I’m Haseul”. Her eyes were somehow the warmest Vivi had ever seen. Maybe she would volunteer to be a furnace in her apartment

Haseul pushed forward the younger girl who gave a wide smile and lisped “Hi roller skate girl, I’m Yeojin.” 

Then Hyunjin faked a whisper and taunted “Frog!Yeojin!”  


She had to skate away quickly as Yeojin had immediately spurred forward in quick pursuit. Meanwhile making, admittingly, little upset frog noises. Haseul raised her hand to do something but quickly gave up at the sight of her friends chasing each other around the rink. The hoop-eared girl held her hand out, “Ok ignoring that. I’m Heejin. It’s nice to meet you.” The girl’s face was the closest thing Vivi had ever seen to believe in angels. Or maybe it was because her eyes were dizzy from watching the two girls in a blur around the rink. Though because of the chaos going on in the background, she was able to smile boldly at Heejin. Then she covered her mouth and giggled.  


“Alright!” Haseul clapped her hands, “Let’s go and bring Hyunjin down!” She and Heejin nodded at each other in determination. Vivi was left behind as the two girls skated somewhat awkwardly towards the other girl’s direction. With no real reason not to skate, Vivi pushed off the carpet.

Agile, she looped between Haseul and Heejin and headed towards Hyunjin like an arrow shooting through the air. Yeojin gave a little whoop as Vivi was soon right behind the perpetrator, a hair's width away from catching Hyunjin. By this point Hyunjin was tired, but was not ready to give up her title as greatest sportsman. She glanced back and ducked when Vivi reached out her hand. The other girls had all stopped skating by this point and resigned to sitting in the middle of the rink. They watched the two girls skate around the rink for a few minutes. Vivi was giggling nonstop at this point and Hyunjin was panicking. She had been pulling out every trick in her book. Suddenly she smiled. 

Her skates swept to the left pulling away from the wall as she grabbed Vivi’s arm. She swung around and Vivi was heading straight at the girls.  


“AHHHHHHH!” everyone screamed except for Hyunjin who was laughing maniacally. Vivi crouched down and closed her eyes hoping that the girls had scattered.

Hyunjin watched as Vivi shot through the girls who had managed to tumble out of the way at the last second. Even with her skill, Vivi had no choice but to fly off the rink onto the carpet where she stumbled and almost fell five times. Then she steadied and jumped up ending it with a little pouriette. She came to a stop and looked over at the girls who had been holding their breath all standing together. Hyunjin looked impressed.

The other girls began beating up Hyunjin, berating her for almost killing their new friend.


	3. Spinning

 

Vivi was dancing. 

Her walkman was hot in her hand. It audibly whirred with the cassette spinning frantically along with the fast BPM. The headphones were bulky and awkward on her head but it did not hamper her mood. The wire dangled loosely in the air hitting her arm as she ran around the rink. Her body moved freely while her hair flowed in the air. She held out her hands drifting here and there and her head was bobbing side to side holding the player like a lightstick. She rolled her body moving to the rhythm beating in her head. Her silhouette was like a ghost on the floor being reflected from the moonlight. It glided in its two-dimensional dance before flickering away as the moon was covered by clouds

The glowing clock had its hands together pointing towards the ceiling. Outside the window all the lights of houses that stretched out in every direction had been bright for a few hours. Neon signs still colored the streets with their blinking words. The girl on the rink was calm and moved like she was not conscious of her surroundings. She danced in some different world that only she could see. 

Vivi opened her eyes. She was in bed. Something mas making her arm itch as she moved it slightly. She propped herself up in bed and saw a small piece of paper with indistinguishable words scribbled on it. It read “Electric power because we can meet at the you’re a god” …she may have mistranslated what Hyunjin had written. She was in luck today because she was actually able to remember something for once. She sat up with her arm raised up to cover her eyes from the sun. She still wasn’t able to replace the old broken blinds from when she had moved into her room.

 

Hyunjin and the other girls had suggested they could go hang out at the park and then go to Han River in the evening. Vivi stretched and yawned. It was Sunday so the rink was not open. Her boss had told her she was going on a vacation therefore the rink would be closed for a week. Vivi was not surprised at her boss’ last minute announcement.  Unlike last time though, Vivi was not dreading this week of freedom.

 

Her slightly broken alarm clock flashed a red warning of 12 pm. Vivi glanced at the paper again and her eyes widened. Dang it, Vivi sighed. She threw on her oversized sweater she had bought at a thrift shop, laced up her high tops, and booked it out of her apartment. At least she was good at long-distance running.

 

The group of girls were on a playground. Mostly the scene consisted of Hyunjin showing off her physical strength and Heejin and Haseul half-paying attention/half-petting a puppy. When Vivi found them, Hyunjin was on top of the highest dome of the playground. She was the first one to greet her in which she took a large leap off the ledge falling rapidly and then rolled on the ground coming to a stop at Vivi’s feet. 

 

“Hi Vivi!” Hyunjin chirped. She wasn’t sweating in the slightest and did not seem phased by her 10 foot fall. Heejin and Haseul turned around when they heard a human falling to the ground thump noise and walked over. “Vivi you made it!” Haseul’s smile was wide. Heejin chipped in with a delighted smile as well. The puppy made it’s way over to Vivi’s leg and sniffed around her in a circle. Vivi sat down and the puppy jumped into her arms and licked her until she was pleading for mercy. The girls petted the dog for a while until the owner came back and picked up her dog like a handbag. “Nooooo~” Vivi sniffed. The puppy was still wagging its tail in their direction. Haseul patted Vivi, “Hey, it’s ok! We have Hyunjin”

Hyunjin barked.

 

“Yup.” said Heejin.

 

They played on the playground a bit longer. Heejin and Haseul had to hide in the slide for a while because a flock of geese were moving closer with glaring eyes. Hyunjin ran at the birds and flapped her arms scaring off every bird in a flash. Vivi mimicked the girl flapping her arms with less success because the geese just stared at her. Hyunjin ran over and barked at them. The birds scattered in surprise. Vivi thought if she was a bird she probably would have taken flight as well. Maybe even if she did not know Hyunjin, she would have first stared and then slowly back away. She was glad she knew Hyunjin already (maybe not completely..)

 

After clearing the birds, Vivi helped the shaken girls over to a shady tree nearby. They all sat in a huff. Chasing off birds and being terrified of birds was hard work. 

 

“We should listen to music!” Haseul suggested. Vivi blinked in confusion. Listen to music by themselves...together? Heejin pulled Haseul’s player out of her bag and pulled out the pairs of headphones inside. Vivi watched in astonishment that the player could have two headphones plugged into it. Heejin noticed Vivi’s surprise, “Isn’t that neat? I didn’t know you could do this until like a month ago”. The other girls nodded, “It’s fun and it makes me feel like less of a loner too.” She laughed. Vivi felt her face fall a little bit. Hyunjin nudged her and asked, “Do you have a player? I left mine at home. I have the headphones though!” 

 

Vivi was wearing her backpack so she pulled it off and looked inside. Lo, and behold she had forgot to take it out after her shift. She looked at Hyunjin and said, “I love it a lot.” Hyunjin made a funny frown and scratched her head. “What do you mean?” Vivi didn’t understand what she had said wrong. She tried again, “I love it...home happy good.” Hyunjin was pulled out of her frown when she laughed uproariously. Vivi didn’t understand, but she smiled widely. 

 

“Do you mean it reminds you of home?” Hyunjin asked. Vivi nodded and Hyunjin looked at her sadly. She perked up and asked“What music do you have?” She picked up the bag and stuck her nose in looking for cassettes. She brought out a few but none of them looked familiar. She held up one that was completely covered in Chinese characters. Vivi tried to translate it, “Tsai Chin singer...you are nice.” Hyunjin covered her mouth again. “Is that the title?” she said with a chuckle.

“Hmm...yes” Vivi eyes rolled up, “Maybe I could translate some of the lyrics for you and it would make more sense?” Hyunjin was excited and plugged in both the headphones then held out the player to Vivi to press the play button. 

 

The song started unexpectedly - a flute and an electric guitar twirled around each other in a folksy sound. Gently a voice came in and sang over a light guitar melody.

 

Someday in some month some years ago,   
it's like a broken face.   
Hard to open my mouth to say goodbye   
I just let everything go away. 

A girl was looking in the mirror and was hugging a stuffed deer. It's eyes drooped and threads were snipped where they had begun to fall out. The antlers had become more of a moose, but the white spots that dotted the fur showed it was still a young deer. The girl looked back up and gazed at her appearance. She couldn’t bring it with her. The deer seemed to be  looking at her, simply heartbroken. She hugged it tighter. There simply wasn’t enough room. She moved closer and looked at her blank face staring back at her. There were no tears in her eyes. Why can’t she even cry?

  
That wasn't an easy thing,   
but we didn't cry.   
Let it come easily,   
let it go nicely.

 

Her parents stood close by the clear automatic glass doors while they watched their daughter get her ticket. She walked back through the black lined stands that marked the queue. Her father passed her the neck pillow he had bought for her. It was a monkey. She held it in her arms and snuggled it. She looked at her mom, who was looking bright despite her crying this morning. Her father was glowing with pride but he had a jaded smile on his face. Vivi knew if she cried her parents would worry. So she said nothing, but hugged them both then kissed her mother on the cheek. She smiled. Her parents held hands and watched her walk all the way to her gate until their daughter vanished from their sight. 

  
Till now, year after year,   
I cannot stop missing,   
missing you, missing the past.   
Hope the ocean breeze moves the wave,   
that reminds me the caress touch of your hand.   
Just like your tenderness

 

Vivi was sitting in her new apartment. She pretended the room was warm and bright. It wasn’t the coldest she had ever felt in her life, she thought. Snow was new, though. That’s all it was, she told herself. It was winter. She would be cold for a while. Nothing that she couldn’t handle. She attempted to fluff up her limp pillows. They sagged back down into a depressing heap. She caught sight of herself in the round mirror directly in front of her over the dresser. 

 

It was a very small person.

 

Her face was tight. All the muscles of her face were desperately straining to keep an even smile. She walked closer and it seemed like her reflection changed. Peering in, she saw herself but not what she expected. Up close her eyes were dark like she was sleepy. But they were open and stared evenly as black marbles. Her face was puffy as if she had stayed in bed for days. It was gray and lifeless. A splash of cold air hit her suddenly and she closed her eyes tightly.

 

Vivi’ felt her body jump as she was nudged by Hyunjin. “So what did it mean? It sounded nice I liked it. Very “you are nice”-esque.” she teased. Vivi had lost all concentration by this point and was not able to come up with anything truly coherent.   
  


“It’s about missing someone. They were nice. You miss your life too.” she said, “But you really can’t tell anyone because that will make you even more upset.”  Hyunjin looked over at her. Vivi’s face had a blank expression.

“Hey, are you ok?” She patted the girl’s hand. Vivi closed her eyes. She had not heard that sentence in a very, very long time. She took off her headphones and lay them down on the grass. Shifting over to close the space between them, she cradled her Walkman in her arms. Then slowly she leaned her head against Hyunjin. She surprised herself when her hand lifted to lay on Hyunjin’s hand. HyunJin didn’t resist and decided it she would not make barking noises just at this moment. She leaned against her. The light wind rustled the trees leaves. Two birds chirped in harmony as they raced back to their nest.

  
  


Vivi awoke with a violent shiver. Her face felt numb and it was difficult to move the muscles to open her eyelids. Was she still in the park? She noticed a tiny glint out in the darkness. A mirror shone lightly. With the moonlight shining on her face she  was pale and it seemed like she was experiencing an earthquake.. She kicked out her feet and blankets and sheets flew up into the air. She gasped, gulping with painful lungs. She grabbed one of the blankets to surround herself with to avoid the biting air. When her feet hit the wooden floor she could not feel them. Then she looked at the window. It was open.

  
  


The next day shined. The girls had made plans yesterday to go out. This time they were hanging around town and looking at all the weirdest shops they could find. When they spied a store with birds in cages lining the window they did a quick u-turn. Hyunjin had covered Heejin’s eyes. Haseul had grabbed Vivi’s hand and also used it as a shield. After walking back out into more populated streets, Vivi’s stomach growled loudly. All eyes were drawn to Hyunjin. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. Heejin threw a side-glance at Vivi. She threw her arm around her and exclaimed, “WE SHOULD EAT!” Hyunjin quickly agreed with a cheer of “bread!” 

 

Haseul piped up, “Vivi didn’t you say you loved to cook?’ Heejin and Hyunjin’s ears perked up. Hyunjin hit Vivi’s arm and said they should most definitely absolutely eat her food and did she make bread? 

Vivi stuttered, “Uh, yes I do? Love cooking?” The girls took this as an exhilarated agreement to cook. So they dragged her to the nearest grocery store to pick up ingredients. In a whirlwind they ended up at the girls’ apartment. Their arms were overloaded with white bags. All arms were relieved to dump them all over the kitchen table. One bag went overboard and Vivi quickly caught it much to her delight. Hyunjin clapped. 

 

“Why don’t we have a contest?” Hyunjin asked. The overwhelming fire of confidence and overzealous competitive spirit was already turning her Super Saiyan. Vivi could not say no to cooking in any form, so why not make it even more fun? Little did she know what was about to happen. At every moment possible Hyunjin proclaimed her right to the throne. Haseul gave up halfway making her kimchi pancake and started eating everyone else’s food. In the corner, Vivi was very happy making her dumplings. She had borrowed Heejin’s apron - it was so pretty. Pink and full of flowers like a delicate dress. Vivi was convinced it would give her good luck for her dumplings. 

 

When the dust had settled, the dishes were spread out on the table. Contestant #1 had spam and kimchi balls. #2 had a strong dish of kimchi stew. #3 the mom’s pancake. #4 the dumplings of the queen of mandu.

 

Since there were only four people they looked around at each other. All faces were a bit perplexed. Hyunjin broke the silence, “We did not think this through.” 

Stumped, the girls decided to just cast their votes for their favorite dish and see what happened. (This rule was amended when Hyunjin only cast votes for her own dish). At the end, the objective winner was the kimchi stew monarch, Kim Hyunjin. She celebrated with a huge smile of victory all the while doing a dance that screamed “i knew it~” Instead of being annoyed, the other girls chowed down on their food. Which was impressively pretty good for only two out of four people in their group actually being decent cooks.

 

The rest of week seemed like a dream. 

 

Even though Vivi could not skate in the evening to make it through the next day, she was happy. Instead of having only one good moment in her day, she was now filled up to the brim. Before this week she could count the real smiles and when she had felt happy since leaving China on one hand. Now she needed way too many fingers so she was starting on her toes. It was a strange sensation. She had friends now, but it still felt unreal. Like she was simply observing herself having a good time from afar. But Vivi was cool with not understanding everything. The girls were coming over to  _ her  _ house today…and

 

She was not as anxious as she had expected. Her apartment was still dark and cold. Her bed was old and creaky. If you looked out the window the scene was not picturesque. Apartments were lined with cracks and looking down at the streets bags blew around in the wind, some even stuck in trees. That is the meager trees straggling along the sidewalk, barely holding on with their weak roots. One little ugly bush stood out, though. Vivi had grown to like that bush. The past few days she had not noticed a change in her surroundings.

 

It was just a little warmer.

 

She heard knocks on the door. Turning her head down there were a lack of socks on her feet. Hyunjin could be heard behind the door asking to be let in, and that it was cold, and she needed to go the bathroom. Vivi had pulled fluffy socks out of her chest of drawers and then threw on slippers ninja-style. She opened the door and was almost run over by Hyunjin.

 

“Sorry!” she shouted, “Bathroom please!” 

 

Vivi did not have to even point because Hyunjin had flown into the bathroom. Heejin shrugged in apology. “I don’t even know.” Her mouth shut when she noticed where she was standing. The apartment was nothing like Vivi who was full of light and creativity. It was practically empty except for a small bed, broken blinds, and a mirror above a creaky dresser. She looked over at Haseul. They had some fixin’ up to do.

  
  
  
  
  


Wind was drifting along the streets through the heart of Seoul. Looking at the people passing by on sidewalks, they looked completely relaxed in the sunshine. Many faces brightened as the wind sent another cool breeze through the mild heat. A girl was walking alone in a crosswalk in the midst of a crowd. Her hair was let down and the waves drifted along her face with the wind. She looked very small. Even a bit lonely with her tiny backpack and big shoes. Looking closer, the girl’s face was excited. The buildings with shops and the wind blowing through the trees made her face light up. Somehow she flowed through the crowd like a leaf. 

 

Vivi did not have any particular reason to be outside. The last time she had tried to walk around town she was hunched and tense. She avoided people as much as possible and ended up running home (in the midst of a panic attack). Vivi did not even have her friends to rely upon on this sunny day. Maybe that’s why she felt so free. Her steps lightened as she saw another shop that caught her eye with its shiny trinkets. People swooped into these shops like seagulls. 

 

Today, Vivi was out on the town. Haseul had discovered yesterday that Vivi had seen barely any of Seoul. Maps, tourist information, and anything else Vivi could (and did not) need to help her were found. Haseul spread all of her guides on a table and pointed at places that were beautiful and where the best restaurants were located. Now, Vivi was on her way with no real destination in sight. Maybe she should have taken a closer look at Haseul’s maps. She supposed she was acting strange in light of her terrifying months prior to today. Talking and laughing echoed off of buildings and carried in the wind. It did not bother her today. Her surroundings somehow reminded her of Hong Kong. This took her feet further into the city.

 

Vivi looked around. It seemed she had come to the end of all the shops. Ahead of her, skyscrapers seemed to shoot up for eternity. They were the only thing you saw wherever you looked. The sun barely managed to squeeze between the buildings and reach the streets. Since Vivi was curious she continued to walk into the grey city. She headed to a building that was in pieces. Metal beams were already planted in the ground, making the layout for the building to come. Walking up to the site, she looked up high into the air. A small bright flash caught her attention. It seemed as though a tiny person way up in the upper beams had hid from Vivi’s gaze. The streets grew darker as Vivi’s face fell. She looked behind her and saw nothing. Still, high up above, she had the feeling she was being watched. She headed up the street to where she saw other stores. The sun shined there and when she stepped into it she immediately felt safer. A flicker of light shimmered. 

 

Her feet were frozen. She had seen light hair in the shape of a very bad mullet.

 

Why is he here, Vivi thought. She had not seen head or tail of the gang leader of the boys since Hyunjin had scared him away. Had he been following her all this week? Vivi shuddered. 

 

Now she was alone. 

 

She felt that her best hope was to get to the house and ask the occupants for help. Around her, most of the shops were worn down. Closed signs painted over them and boards were nailed in the doors. Her backpack straps started to fall off her shoulders as she ran, the top flap was open and bouncing around She was close to the red brick house and was about to cross the road when a car came tumbling by. She screeched to a halt. She fell down as the car passed with a flush of hot air.

 

On the ground her backpack had fallen off and she grabbed it and held her head. When she looked up she spotted the same glint of light from the side of the house. Since she was still sitting on the street, she slowly rose up and grabbed her bag with care. Looking left and right she started to cross the road and came to the sidewalk in front of the house. She glanced again over at where the light had shined. A light, delicate street full of trees on either side was there. She looked back to the house and then again at the pretty street. No signs of life came from the house. Going forward with light steps and fists ready at her sides she walked into the gentle sun. The middle of the cobblestones was not occupied by the boy.

 

There stood a Sika deer.

 

She could have sworn she saw a girl with blonde hair off in the distance before the sun disappeared. 

 

Her eyes held wide open stared through darkness. A frigid wind was suffocating as it hovered silently. Nothing else existed, except for complete darkness and ice. When your eyes have adjusted to the endless black they find life within the emptiness. Off in the distance was a circle. It floated like a mirage on the horizon; fluttering in and out of reality. A two-legged creature appeared out of the shadows. It was very small and almost indistinguishable, but was gliding in pursuit of the shape beyond the dark.

 

Vivi’s head hit the concrete. 

 

No dreams sweetened the foggy sleep. If it was even sleep. Burning colors flashed like gunshots under her eyes into every part of sight until the blackness was completely covered up. All that existed was blind light. She knew she was asleep but the concrete under her felt very sharp and real. She was saved by gentle bells. The harsh ringing in between her eyes blended together the sounds and colors. Her head lifted off the counter to see her boss. She was walking up to her and her mouth was moving. No sounds came out of her mouth. She stood at the desk and looked at her in concern. Vivi looked over to the window to see the sky. It was orange and blue.

 

Girls were sitting at a noodle shop with a obvious movement to show their uproar of excitement. However, none of these sounds were lifted up the stairs to vibrate in any ears. Vivi was standing at top of the staircase and looked down at them. She lifted her hand to block the blinding sunlight. As the sun touched her hand her skin did not feel any of its warmth.

 

She was staring at Hyunjin. Her face was stony and cold, which fit awkwardly on top of her bright yellow rain jacket. Her eyes widened in confusion. Hyunjin mirrored her expression. Vivi tried to say something but even she could not hear her own words. Hyunjin looked more confused and she mouthed something that seemed like saying she couldn’t understand her. Vivi opened her mouth again and breathed in. Her lungs froze.

 

The school track was a little run down. Everybody knew that but it did not keep anybody away. It didn’t stop all the athletes from coming here almost daily. Even people who didn’t run at all just hung out there with their friends. Vivi was standing in front of her friends on the faded track. They were all wearing white tracksuits and high socks and smiled at her. She looked down and saw the same outfit. Her hair was shorter now. It brushed against her face and barely touched her shoulders. She could detect a strand that seemed to be a light pink color. 

 

In the upper corner of her vision she spied a flashing light. A red alert with tiny words were appearing like someone was typing them out:

  
  


MEMORY BANK UPLOADED.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. Vivi i luv you i promise. You guys have theories, too? I always thought Vivi's backstory as an android was super interesting. Thanks for reading! Here's a sad playlist just for you: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQdKmAQLGlVpzpGEm3LtepuLHoS4ZNJjS

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! Since this is my first time writing a story, feedback is welcome and appreciated. (If you listened to the playlist, let me know because that's what I listened to while writing!)


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